Islamist leader backs fight to take Libya airport

Black smoke billows over the skyline as a fire at the oil depot for the airport rages out of control after being struck in the crossfire of warring militias battling for control of the airfield, in Tripoli, Libya Monday, July 28, 2014. The latest violence to plague the country has so far killed scores of people and wounded hundreds as foreigners flee the chaos. Libya's interim government said in a statement that the fire could trigger a "humanitarian and environmental disaster" in Tripoli, appealing for "international help" to extinguish the inferno. (AP Photo/Mohammed Ben Khalifa) Black smoke billows over the skyline as a fire at the oil depot for the airport rages out of control after being struck in the crossfire of warring militias battling for control of the airfield, in Tripoli, Libya Monday, July 28, 2014. The latest violence to plague the country has so far killed scores of people and wounded hundreds as foreigners flee the chaos. Libya's interim government said in a statement that the fire could trigger a "humanitarian and environmental disaster" in Tripoli, appealing for "international help" to extinguish the inferno. (AP Photo/Mohammed Ben Khalifa)

By Associated Press July 30, 2014 1 min read

CAIRO (AP) – The leader of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm in Libya says an attack by militias on the capital’s airport is a “legitimate” response to an offensive by a renegade general against Islamists.

The weeks-old battle for Tripoli’s airport has killed dozens and nearly destroyed the facility. Shelling sparked a giant fire in nearby oil tanks that continues to rage out of control.

The comments by Mohammed Sawan to The Associated Press on Wednesday were a strong show of support for Islamist militias trying to wrest control of the airport from a rival militia.

Sawan said the assault was in response to a months-long offensive by Gen. Khalifa Hifter, who has being trying to crush Islamist militias in Libya, mainly in the eastern city of Benghazi.